Headlines

New restaurant policy: 5% off if you check your phone at the door

As servers explain to customers just after they’re seated, participation is voluntary, but about 40 percent decide to opt in, Gold says. And surprisingly, not one response has been negative.

“No one has ever really criticized the policy,” Gold said. “We understand that some people — doctors, parents with kids at home — need their phones, but everyone has been very positive. The incentive is there for those who want to take it.”

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This is non sense, nothing is ever solved by the market. We need the government to solve this problem for realzies, not some evil corporate fascists who pretend to care about this very serious problem.

I would keep my phone and tip 5% less. If I want to be fussed at for texting or reading blogs at the table, I’ll go eat at an elderly relative’s house. If I’m at a restaurant, I’m paying a premium to be served tasty food on my own terms. A waitress once did a tsk-tsk at my family because we all had our phones out entertaining ourselves while waiting for our food. She lost most of her tip. My family spends plenty of quality time together and we’re excellent communicators. We don’t need our server judging how we choose to relax and enjoy ourselves.

I would keep my phone and tip 5% less. If I want to be fussed at for texting or reading blogs at the table, I’ll go eat at an elderly relative’s house. If I’m at a restaurant, I’m paying a premium to be served tasty food on my own terms. A waitress once did a tsk-tsk at my family because we all had our phones out entertaining ourselves while waiting for our food. She lost most of her tip. My family spends plenty of quality time together and we’re excellent communicators. We don’t need our server judging how we choose to relax and enjoy ourselves.

aero on January 5, 2013 at 10:50 PM

Then go to another restaurant. If the establishment or most of its patrons don’t like cell phones there, then it makes sense for them to discourage their use. And stiffing the waiter for the policies of the restaurant is incredibly wrong-headed, not to mention petty and passive-aggressive.

I bet your that same idiot that stands in the middle of the aisle yacking it up on your phone at the store and shoot anyone who dares to walk around you an evil look… or the same one who is on the phone weaving in and out of traffic doing +20 MPH over the speed limit.

How about having “family” time without the cell phone. Talk to your family instead of sitting there texting or whatever. You got all sorts of time during the day to do that… interacting with your family should have priority over that.

Then go to another restaurant. If the establishment or most of its patrons don’t like cell phones there, then it makes sense for them to discourage their use. And stiffing the waiter for the policies of the restaurant is incredibly wrong-headed, not to mention petty and passive-aggressive.

HidetheDecline on January 5, 2013 at 11:04 PM

And I’m sure that Aero did after getting yelled at and judged by a 20-something waitress. Geez.. I’m a single girl and I dine out alone. I’m an awful cook, so I don’t generally cook. When I go out, I do read blogs on my phones. I also read books on my Nook.. I know that this is awful.

None of the above, and no tip for you, Judgy McJudgerson! I’m a live-and-let-live small-L libertarian. Establishments that believe they know better than I do how I should spend my time, attention and money can do without my money. If I’m not disturbing anyone (no, I never talk loudly into my phone in public places — I step out if a call is urgent enough to take at dinner), then it’s my business to decide whether I’ll talk to my table companions or read the news on my phone while I wait for the food I’m paying for.

How about having “family” time without the cell phone. Talk to your family instead of sitting there texting or whatever. You got all sorts of time during the day to do that… interacting with your family should have priority over that.

watertown on January 5, 2013 at 11:14 PM

How about a 20-something waitress with a degree in womyns studies who cannot get a job elsewhere no judging the behavior of others and then expecting to get a good tip?? Geez.. was Aero’s waitress named Sandra Fluke? (Just kidding.. she wouldn’t actually work, but it is the same personality type).

Does someone reading a newspaper or a book at the table get charged 5% more as well? What about someone having a very loud conversation with a table companion? How about someone doing a crossword in a booklet rather than on a phone? What if they’re playing a game on an iPad (iPads don’t seem to be subject to confiscation in order to get the discount)? What if they’re playing a game on an iPad with a person sitting at the table with them? What if they have a child with them whose toy makes noise louder than a cell phone’s ring? How about people getting some work done on a laptop or old-fashioned paper? Are all those things okay but doing any of the same things on a phone at the table isn’t?

Do those people get charged 5% more? If not, it’s a discriminatory policy to charge people more who don’t want their phones confiscated. It’s a privately-owned restaurant, so they can do what they want. But I either won’t eat there, or I’ll make sure I pay the same amount in the end as everyone else. Sucks for the server, but I can’t control the prices on the menu while I can control the gratuity. The gratuity is an expression of gratitude for a pleasant dining experience. If the restaurant’s policy makes it less pleasant for me, then the gratuity will reflect that. They should pay the servers more.

And I’m sure that Aero did after getting yelled at and judged by a 20-something waitress. Geez.. I’m a single girl and I dine out alone. I’m an awful cook, so I don’t generally cook. When I go out, I do read blogs on my phones. I also read books on my Nook.. I know that this is awful.

Illinidiva on January 5, 2013 at 11:23 PM

Aero didn’t say that he/she was yelled at. What s/he did say was that when eating at restaraunts it’s “on my own terms”. This is self-important tripe. When you eat at a restaurant, you are doing so on their terms, and by going there and being seated you are agreeing to those terms.

And again, if you simply don’t like the restaurant’s policy, taking it out on the server is wrong. If the server is rude, that is a completely different issue.

Thank you, Illinadiva. I usually tip waitstaff quite generously, but they do have to earn it within reason. Being openly judgmental of one’s customers is pretty dumb for a server. Would she expect a tip if she asked an overweight customer if they really thought ordering the cheesecake was a good idea?

And while the restaurant’s policy is not necessarily the waitstaff’s choice, servers will certainly lobby the management to get it changed if their tips are suffering because patrons realize they’re being charged more than other people for keeping their phones with them while they eat. If 99% of customers are getting the deal, it’s not a discount for turning in your phone — it’s a fee for keeping it.

When you eat at a restaurant, you are doing so on their terms, and by going there and being seated you are agreeing to those terms.

HidetheDecline on January 5, 2013 at 11:51 PM

True to a point (such as “No shirt, no shoes, no service”). But I go to restaurants so that I don’t have to cook and clean up. They are absolutely there to please me on my terms and not theirs. That’s why I pay many times more than the ingredients actually cost. I am not a beggar or supplicant at their table. I am not starving. i presumably chose their establishment because I thought I’d enjoy the food and the dining experience there. They don’t get to take away my several-hundred-dollar phone like a high school cafeteria monitor.

Would you let them confiscate your wedding ring if they gave you a 5% discount? Or any other expensive personal item? Would you pay 5% extra to keep your valuable item on you while you ate? Assuming you even sat down to eat on those terms, would you ever go back?

I wonder if they tweeted or emailed the restaurant from their phones. (They’re obviously evil jerks if they did.)

They certainly aren’t tweeting about their dining experience at that restaurant while they’re actually in the restaurant. They’re not instagramming pictures of their beautiful food or photos of their table companions enjoying the place. That would be awful PR for the restaurant, right? Totally worth driving away potential patrons and sacrificing 5% of their revenue for those who give up their phones to the high school cafeteria monitors.

If I may ask, why is it anyone’s g*d D*mn business if I’m on my phone at a restaurant? Why is it their business if I’m playing a game or reading a blog or reading my Nook or emailing people? I am the customer. Unless I’m walking around goosing people or spitting in their food, it is none of their business what I do while I wait for food.

I will not speak on my phone while I’m trying to order or while someone is talking to me at the restaurant, but otherwise, I am not a four year old. I do not want someone mothering me while I’m at a restaurant.

Amen. I’m frankly surprised at how many Hot Air commenters are apparently quite supportive of the private sector nannying us just like Big Mama Government does. It’s for our own good, I guess. Or perhaps it’s “for the children.” We should pay for the privilege of having our property confiscated at the door and keep going back for more. And we must always give waiters the full amount they’re expecting, whether they earn it or not. It’s not their fault that “the Man” made a bad policy, right? We have to give them our money because what their bosses do is not their fault, and they need that money more than we do. Oh, and if we want to keep our own property with us while we eat, we will have to pay more than everyone else for the privilege of having that particular property. Sound familiar?

“No one has ever really criticized the policy,” Gold said. “We understand that some people — doctors, parents with kids at home — need their phones, but everyone has been very positive. The incentive is there for those who want to take it.”

I had some sanctimonious waiter giving me the crap about my phone and how often I checked it one night. Until I very loudly informed the people I was with that my Grandmother was dying and I was waiting for word that I needed to pack a bag to go to a funeral. Again, I stand by my claim that it’s no one’s concern what I do (or do not do) with my phone in restaurants.

Whoa. Glad I’ve never been waitstaff. But this thread has made me more aware of thanking (and tipping) a little more for their tough, and often thankless, work.

Ladysmith CulchaVulcha on January 6, 2013 at 12:52 AM

Well, I have been waitstaff and it’s not tough. It’s certainly thankless and it’s hard on the feet, but it’s not neurosurgery, it’s making sure my stupid burger is right. I know I’m insulting people who are waitstaff, but I went from flipping burgers to working as a Registered Nurse in a neonatal intensive care unit so I probably have a slightly different view of what is construed as “tough and thankless” work…… I don’t recall getting tips for saving babies’ lives.

For the record, I almost never under-tip. When I’m not pleased, I tip 15%. I typically tip 20%, and I’ll tip even more and call the manager to compliment the server after I leave if they really went out of their way to make my family’s, friends’ or colleagues’ meal a great experience, which happens more often than you might think. There are some really wonderful folks waiting tables out there.

To get less than 15%, they have to be rude, or the overall dining experience has to have been unpleasant enough in some way to have ruined my evening (which taking my phone away from me after I drove there, parked, waited in line for a table, etc. OR charging me a 5% fee for keeping my own property would be). I don’t stiff waitstaff who do their job even somewhat well. I was a waitress long ago, and I was really good at it. I earned good tips because I understood that people were exchanging their hard-earned money for a great meal and some relaxation brought by a pleasant person who made sure they got what they wanted and otherwise stayed out of their way. That’s the magic formula. It’s hard work, but it’s not thankless if you don’t dictate to them how to enjoy their hour or two with you.

Other than a loud conversation (which can be done without a phone) it is no one elses business.

Heard a story about a lawyer having a loud phone conversation in a restaurant regarding a client . He turns around to find the person at the next booth with his own phone recording his words. The lawyer sputtered that this was a privileged communcation. “Not if you do it in a loud voice in public,” the other person said.

If you are texting or reading, have your phone on vibrate, or even talking softly on your phone it would not be an issue.

And if the waiter is having to pause in her/his busy job while you explain to jimmy that he needs to set the microwave oven at 2:00 minutes to heat up his dinner, I can see your host being a bit testy.

The two worst job are waiting tables and checkout clerks. I have more than once chided people for being rude to checkout clerks just because they know the clerk cannot defend him/herself.

There are certainly some sanctimonious people on here this morning. This is totally a voluntary thing, a way for the restaurant to incentivize what they think is a good behavior. And, y’all are treating them as if they’re the Spanish Inquisition. Next time you’re in a restaurant, read a book.

Heck,
If the restaurant owner wants to give a discount for certain behavior, good for him/her. But it isn’t mandatory. Sort of like the way charitable deductions work on taxes…not required, but “rewarded” behavior.

(That’s a different thread…I’m against all deductions in general. Especially ones for Hollywood to make entertainment. But hey…see you next thread!)

The key is that it is voluntary. By a private sector entity.

I’m wondering how long it will be until some Libbie Lawmaker decides we need to make it mandatory in all restaurants and public venues.

Personally, it would depend upon the food and service and I still wouldn’t give up my phone. All it takes is a minute or so for many phones to give up their data. I usually put it on vibrate and take the call outside if it is important. But usually, incoming is going to voicemail when I’m otherwise engaged.

I patronize a restaurant because I enjoy eating/being there, not because of some fru-fru policy. I “vote” with my feet.

No one cares about people reading blogs or whatnot but if you are stuck between three tables of braying aholes shouting crap about ‘the business’ (there is nothing else, even if you’re no in it) and you know the deal.

Aero didn’t say that he/she was yelled at. What s/he did say was that when eating at restaraunts it’s “on my own terms”. This is self-important tripe. When you eat at a restaurant, you are doing so on their terms, and by going there and being seated you are agreeing to those terms.

And again, if you simply don’t like the restaurant’s policy, taking it out on the server is wrong. If the server is rude, that is a completely different issue.

HidetheDecline on January 5, 2013 at 11:51 PM

If you’ve read aero’s post you’ll know that in the situation in question the waitress was the one basically judging them. If waitresses want to pass condescending judgment on how people who are paying for a nice night out want to pass their time, then the patrons in question have the right to not leave them tips.

There are certainly some sanctimonious people on here this morning. This is totally a voluntary thing, a way for the restaurant to incentivize what they think is a good behavior. And, y’all are treating them as if they’re the Spanish Inquisition. Next time you’re in a restaurant, read a book.

There are certainly some sanctimonious people on here this morning. This is totally a voluntary thing, a way for the restaurant to incentivize what they think is a good behavior. And, y’all are treating them as if they’re the Spanish Inquisition. Next time you’re in a restaurant, read a book.

GWB on January 6, 2013 at 7:09 AM

I don’t have any problem with the restaurant policy, as it is voluntary. But it does seem a lot of people have been asleep the last five years and missed just how drastically the definition of “phone” has changed. I mean, what book would you like me to read? Maybe the Bible? I may do that, but my Bible is on my phone.